Exchange Day's Contract
The Exchange Day had ended.
Some towers were sobbing, others were laughing— as it always did, the Exchange Day crossed into a time of stark contrasts between joy and misery.
The Iron Magic Tower had chosen the Gérard Kingdom.
The Exstep Alliance had sealed the deal with the Water Magic Tower, and the Boulian Republic had secured its pact with the Thunder Magic Tower. The victor of this Exchange Day was already spreading like wildfire through the people's mouths: the Gérard Kingdom.
The other towers were seething with jealousy, especially toward the Iron Magic Tower.
It wasn't just that their performance had been overwhelmingly superior.
On the contrary, their complaints were almost reasonable.
The other towers had been left waiting because the Iron Magic Tower kept delaying decisions.
With the #1 option—the Iron Magic Tower—failing to finalize anything, the other three nations were stuck twiddling their thumbs, unable to sit at a proper negotiation table.
As for the other towers that could have been seen as trade goods, they were simply wondering when their turn would come.
To the point where a petition had even been submitted to the Archmage asking for an exceptional one-month extension of this Exchange Day.
Anyway.
In the Gérard Kingdom, the people were so overjoyed by the contracts that resources had already started flowing in.
The fastest ones to be delivered were knights.
"Salutations! We are the Sealix Knight Squad dispatched for the new armor testing!"
In the Tower Master's office.
Sealix Knight Squad Commander Winston placed a fist over his chest in greeting, and nine knights followed with salutes behind him.
"You arrived so quickly? It's only been about two weeks since the Exchange Day ended."
"Since we wanted to leave even the smallest trace of our presence in this historic moment when the Knight Armor begins, everyone insisted on departing early."
"You have quite the passion."
Beldora Millennium nodded with a deep, knowing smile.
Thinking that good things are just good, and smiling at the moment...
"Shit."
CLANG!
Now, without a single warning, Lee Dam swung the office door open and sauntered inside.
"There's no room on the Knight Armor for needle marks. All the hard work is on me, you know."
Sky-blue hair.
Eyes that were clearly different from others, voluptuous breasts and hips, and finally that crude way of speaking.
*'This woman!'*
*'From now on, I have to attend to this person.'*
*'I didn't become a knight squad to service someone else's lust.'*
*'……She's really pretty.'*
*'Is this orgy? My legs are shaking.'*
Even the Sealix Knight Squad knights—especially the most skilled among them—were lost in various thoughts as they looked at Lee Dam.
But she simply passed them by and began flipping through the bundle of documents in her hands.
*'Ah, our profiles.'*
*'……Writing those was genuinely embarrassing.'*
*'Looking at us like this from the front is impressive.'*
*'What? Noland's waist is only 15cm when relaxed? When we saw him naked, it wasn't that small.'*
*'They wrote it a bit long— is that okay? Not getting fired, right?'*
Standing in front of Beldora's desk, Lee Dam finally raised her head and looked them over.
"Haa, Lee Dam. You handle it. I'm counting on you?"
"Yeah."
"But even though I told you in advance, just in case… these people are outsiders. You can't treat them like our tower mages, right?"
"……."
"Answer me."
"……."
"I said answer."
Beldora crumpled the memo beside her and tossed it at the back of Lee Dam's head.
Lee Dam continued speaking as if nothing had happened, glancing at the Sealix Knight Squad.
"Squad Commander?"
"Winston, sir. It's an honor to meet you, Master Lee Dam."
Winston was a massive, short-cropped haired knight.
He looked stiff, and the gorilla resemblance was striking.
"Yo, answer me."
TICK! TICK!
Paper balls kept flying from behind, but Lee Dam ignored them and kept talking.
"For the experiments ahead, each of you will prepare and proceed with your own contracts. Is that fine?"
"Yes, of course."
"Alright. I had a separate form made, so now just follow mine— AAAAAK?!"
"Kyaaah!"
Beldora yanked Lee Dam's hair from behind, grumbling.
Her waist was pulled back, her voluptuous breasts thrusting forward and jiggling wildly.
Swallow.
A gulp echoed through the room.
More than one. Maybe several.
"Aah! Aaaah! You said contract writing! If the content is weird, they'll just cut it, right?!"
Lee Dam calmed Beldora.
Of all the people in the Iron Magic Tower, only Beldora could calm her.
"Sigh, let's go."
Lee Dam dragged them out.
The scent she gave off was unexpectedly fresh, so the knights felt a slight flutter in their hearts.
The destination was the conference room.
Inside it was oppressively humid— not just from the season, but because it was right next to the Giant Blast Furnace, which had made the entire tower warmer.
Ever since the furnace appeared, the tower had gotten hotter.
Especially near the furnace wall, where mages avoided it like the plague.
There was even a room they called the cursed chamber, now unusable. Lee Dam planned to wrap it with cedar panels later and turn it into a sauna.
"Ah, it's so goddamn hot, fuck."
Well, that was that.
A sauna was about cooling down sweat, but here it was just plain hot.
Annoyed, Lee Dam sat down with a huff.
The knights followed and took seats around the large table one by one.
"Let's hurry. I'll die from the heat."
*'The tone is exactly like that.'*
*'She's very rough for a woman.'*
*'Sounds like a forty-year-old drunk uncle.'*
Despite the prior warning, the knights clicked their tongues at Lee Dam's behavior.
Squad Commander Winston nodded indifferently, thanks to Prince Legion's earlier warning.
[Winston, you need to know. They don't understand courtesy there.]
[But we must maintain courtesy. Even if it's unreasonable and absurd, we have no choice.]
[Show knightly conduct.]
'Haa.'
He had mentioned it for a reason, but Winston was a knight and wouldn't flinch at this much disrespect.
"Alright, first let's call attendance. Winston?"
"……Yes, here."
Treating him like a child was insulting, but Winston endured it.
"Heinrich? What a weird name?"
"At your service."
"Noland—"
The names were called in a long line.
Lee Dam flipped to the last page, completing confirmation for all ten knights.
She set the profiles down on the desk and handed out the contract sheets one by one, explaining.
"Here, the contracts. Skim them and sign. It's so hot."
*'Skim them and sign?'*
*'What, like that—.'*
"Hmm."
Starting with Winston, the knights slowly read the contracts.
[Preface]
This contract is an official agreement between the tower's experiment participants and the tower, specifying that the participants have read and agreed to all terms of this contract.
Respecting the authority and order of the tower, the following conditions are sworn to be followed.
*'The contract itself is pretty normal.'*
*'But why the hell do they write it like this?'*
*'Anyway, the Exchange Day already covered everything.'*
In fact, the knights found it strange that they were writing separate contracts.
Thanks to having read some books, the young knight Dunn raised his hand first.
"Um, Master Lee Dam?"
"What?"
"It says financial compensation will be paid. Is this separate from getting paid for working here?"
"Exactly? Since you're working here, you should get paid for your labor, right?"
"Oh."
"Also paid separately from the salary?"
The knights sighed in wonder like apes, and Lee Dam removed the robe she was wearing.
"Of course. Ah, shit. Hurry up and read it. It's really hot."
Fan in hand, Lee Dam fanning herself irritably made the knights immediately resume reading the contract.
Compensation was paid, and the terms were clearly stated.
The period seemed a bit long, but far better than sitting here dying.
As they scrolled down, the contract's tone began to feel odd.
[Article 13: Compensation and Treatment]
①: The tower guarantees treatment magic for any sudden incidents during the experiment.
②: However, additional compensation is not provided separately, respecting the participant's autonomy and independence.
[Article 14: Responsibility Assignment]
①: Responsibility for sudden accidents and damages during the experiment lies with the tower.
②: However, responsibility for accidents caused by the participant's negligence or intent rests with the participant themselves.
[Article 15: Confidentiality Obligation]
①: Participants are prohibited from leaking information about the experiment's content or process, and leakage will result in strict punishment under the tower's regulations.
[Article 16: Experiment Participation Obligation]
①: Participants cannot refuse experiment participation upon summons or notification.
②: Whether to participate or not must be reported 48 hours in advance through the responsible party.
③: The responsible party can judge the reasonableness of the refusal reason and exercise the right to refuse.
[Article 17: Compensation for Compliance with Participation Rules]
①: If the responsible party's right to refuse is exercised after the fact, and the participant does not participate, the tower may take appropriate measures at its discretion.
"……"
"……."
"……."
By the way, even if the knights were sick, they were allowed to rest during training.
"Um, Master Lee Dam? This seems a bit coercive, especially Articles 16 and 17."
"Eh? What? If they suddenly go on strike, what then? These are the terms so we can trust them."
"……."
Winston's mouth shut tight.
It sounded like it could be harsh treatment.
He was already doubting it.
*'But it's just armor testing— why include these?'*
*'Even if it's Knight Armor, it's still just armor, right?'*
*'Did they just add them out of habit?'*
Amid these doubts.
"Shit…… I should make an air conditioning magic already."
Lee Dam, unable to handle the heat, unbuttoned two of her shirt buttons.
Shaking the shirt to let the air flow, her breasts subtly jiggled with every motion.
At that moment, she realized.
*'Oh! That's it!'*
*'Crazy bitch! What the hell does she think she's going to drain them of?! She put clauses like this in the contract!'*
*'Even if I don't want to, she's going to force me?!'*
This was like treating them as real tools for satisfying her sexual desires.
The knights exchanged glances.
Was this right?
To be treated this disrespectfully?
They were honorable knights, not servants bought to satisfy a woman's lust.
But.
"Ah, sign quickly! Can you even read?! Because your heads are all muscles, do you have to read the contract like a picture book?!"
The moment Lee Dam wiped sweat everywhere with a handkerchief, a strange impulse struck.
*'Can ten men here not satisfy that one?*
*'That woman has a real taste in bed….'*
*'I really want to punish her.'*
The instant Lee Dam wiped sweat from her cleavage with the handkerchief, the knights— hypnotized— signed.
---